Why leave social media now?
saying goodbye to Instagram.
I've been on multiple social media platforms for over half of my life. I remember when Instagram started as a space to share our lunches and laundry days, complete with the cringy frames & filters. I also remember when Twitter began simply as a place to talk about good movies, our bad days, and our favorite quotes. Facebook used to hold 80+ photo albums of one night out at a concert, overly edited images tagging our best friends, “poking” people for no reason, and sharing what we were up to at any given moment.
Social media used to be different.
As a teen, I had all the platforms to keep up with friends and family members. I captured my life through many iPhone cameras over the years and posted without a second thought. I got into arguments with perfect strangers in comment sections (not proud about that one) and felt like I needed to defend my family, friends, or even celebrities I had followed and liked. Honestly, I had a lot of fun overall with social media despite the dark spots.
Fast forward to adulthood.
I opened Twitter one day in college to all kinds of hate against my dad, family members, and others I knew and loved. I scrolled and scrolled to figure out what would compel someone to say such hateful things about someone they didn’t know. I found no reasons. For years, I opened social media to see untrue things written about the people I loved. It took its toll and one day in adulthood, I pressed the button to delete my Twitter account. The freedom that followed was unparalleled.
Deleting social media doesn’t stop what people are saying, but it does stop the steady stream of content always accessible to read & mull over.
So here we are, once again I’m removing myself from a platform I have loved in the past but now it just doesn’t seem to find a super prominent place in my life. It’s been a time waster, a source of anxiety, and more. But it’s also been a place I’ve met some of my best friends, a place to talk about grief & faith, and a place to share my photography. It hasn't all been bad, but it’s different now. I’m different now.
Welcome to a new space where I want to get back to writing more long form posts again and sharing what I’m learning in my walk with Jesus. I also want to continue sharing about grief and the journey I’ve been on for many years now. I’m obviously not going completely off the grid because hello, I have a substack, but I much prefer this type of content now and I want to continue sharing life with all of you in one way or another.
Thanks for reading!
- Talitha :)
